- TYPE: IPA
- BREWERY: Dorchester Brewing Co.
- LOCATION: Boston, MA
- CONTAINER: 4-Pack 16 oz. Cans
- COST:11.99 – Total Wine, Hobe Sound, FL
- ABV: 5.4% ABV
- RATING: 4-Swigs
- REVIEWED BY: Dave
I didn’t pick the Rupee IPA. The four-pack nudged itself to the front of the shelf the way some stories sidle up—uninvited, persistent, already convinced it belongs in your hand.
I was just walking past, minding my list, when the cans shifted with the soft clatter of aluminum clearing its throat. A little shuffle forward. A subtle lean. The kind of movement you pretend you didn’t see because acknowledging it means you’re committed to whatever weirdness comes next.
The packaging glowed that burnished, river-bottom copper, and I swore I heard the sound of fingers moiling through a pile of gold coins. I reached for it, and the plastic handle warmed under my fingers, as if relieved I’d finally noticed.
Back home, after several hours being chilled in my garage beer fridge, first can opened with a sigh heavy as monsoon air.
First sip:
Smooth—almost suspiciously so. Not the hop-crunch of modern IPAs that brag their bitterness from across the room. More of a gentlemanly bow from an ale that had crossed oceans in wooden crates and come back with stories it didn’t tell all at once.
Second sip:
The room tipped a degree toward the past. I heard the creak of rigging, the far-off argument of gulls, and the steady, heartbeat thump of waves against the hull. Either the beer was whispering history or my imagination had slipped its leash again. Hard to tell. I’ve followed stranger trails sober.
Third sip:
The bitterness stayed tucked away, letting a quiet, polished finish glide in like a seasoned traveler stepping off a long voyage, dusting off salt and holding onto dignity. Somewhere, I pictured the world-renowned brewer—one hand in old Britain, one in old India—tuning hop notes the way a luthier coaxes harmony from stubborn wood.
By the fourth sip, the can felt heavier. Not in ounces, but in meaning—ballast from a century-old route, a faint ghost of a sailor who’d hitched a ride into a modern refrigerator.
I set the can down.
It exhaled.
I might have, too.
Rupee IPA didn’t just put the India back in India Pale Ale.
It put the voyage back—the patience, the quiet grit, the long horizon. A beer that walks softly but carries its past like a compass.
When I tossed the empty into recycling, I swear the remaining cans nudged closer together, as if plotting their next move.
THEIR STORY:
The IPAs of today trace their origin to the 19th century British India. Ales enjoyed then were less hoppy & bitter than today. When shipping beer to India via ship, brewers in Britain realized adding in more hops naturally preserved the beer to help make the six month voyage. As a result, the taste became more hoppy & bitter, like the popular IPAs of today. Our world-renound master beer brewer has crafted a British-Indian style ale with a subtle hop character & smooth finish. Rupee is putting the India back in India Pale Ale.
Beer Can Cottage 